NYGenWeb Putnam County, New York
History of Putnam County

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     Owing to the fact that settlers could buy these lands, they were settled at an early day, and the "Oblong" was the original Southeast Precinct and had many inhabitants. The Oblong line is still well defined though in some places obliterated by the removal of fences by persons who own land on both sides of the line. Its location at various points is given in the sketches of the towns of Southeast and Patterson. The west line of the Oblong was marked by heaps of stones at intervals of two miles. The following is the description of these points as taken from the report of the commissioners. The first two monuments at the distance of two miles from the angle are in Westchester county. The next, or the sixth mile monument, is the first in Putnam county.

     "At the distance of six miles in the said line we set up a stake and heaped some stones around it on the top of a ridge for a monument which we esteemed to be about thirty rods East of a cedar swamp, and marked some trees on each side of said monument in a nearly North 12 degrees 30 minutes Course.(1)

     "At the distance of eight miles we set up a stake and heaped up some stones round it for a monument, being between two rocky hills, about four rods from the eastermost of them and marked some trees on each side of said monument(2)."

     "At the distance of ten miles we set up a stake and heaped up some stones round it for a monument being on the west side of a ridge of land and 66 chains on the perpendicular west from Croton River and marked some trees on each side of said monument(3)."

      "At the distance of twelve miles we set up a stake and heaped some stones round it as a monument being at the east side of a hill near a point of rocks to the west of a great swamp and boggy meadow in said swamp in Croton River." [This twelve mile monument is on the land of Dr. Jonathan Seeley, about 40 rods north of the road leading from his house to De Forrest's corners.]

     "At the distance of fourteen miles we set up a stake and. heaped up some stones round it for a monument near on the top of a mountain being on the east side of the aforesaid Great Swamp and near the southwest end of the said mountains(4)."

     "At the distance of sixteen miles we set up a stake and heaped up some stones round it for a monument being on the northwest side of a brushy hill and marked some trees on each side of said monument(5)."

     "At the distance of eighteen miles we set up a stake and heaped up some stones round it for a monument, being on the north side of a small run of water and in a low piece of land and marked some trees on each side of said monument." [This eighteen mile monument is in the town of Pawlings, on the farm of Isaac Aikin. It is about one-quarter mile north of the northeast corner of the Philipse Patent. This monument was two chains and two rods north from the northwest corner of the Oblong Lot No. 23.]

     Of the tract granted to Thomas Hauley and his associates 44,250 acres were released to Adam Ireland, John Thomas and Benjamin Birdsall, June 15th, 1731. The deed is recorded in Dutchess County Records, Liber N., Page 302, and these parties sold Lots 23 and 16 to Jacob Haviland, jr., June 16th, 1731.

     The original line between New York and Connecticut was established by the commissioners who run the Oblong line, by measuring lines perpendicular from the Oblong line, from each of the before mentioned monuments which were two miles distant from each other. The following is the description of the monuments which were placed to mark the Connecticut line:

     "The monument corresponding to the monument at six miles distance as aforesaid is a stake with a heap of stones round it near the north end of a swamp and by a foot-path leading to Danbury."(6)

     "The monument corresponding to the monument of eight miles distance as aforesaid, is a stake and heap of stones round it in a hollow upon a high rocky hill(7)."

     "The monument corresponding to the monument at ten miles distance as aforesaid is a stake with a heap of stones round it in a springy ground on the west side of a high hill(8)."

     "The monument corresponding to the monument at twelve miles distance as aforesaid was set up at the end of two miles on a line running nearly north 12 degrees 30 minutes east from the monument corresponding to the monument at ten miles distance, because we could not carry the perpendicular across the Great Swamp, that was overflowed by Croton river; and we marked the trees in the said two miles with 3 notches on the north and south sides. This monument is a heap of stones round a small white oak tree." (9)

     "The monument corresponding to the monument at fourteen miles distance is a stake and heap of stones standing on the northwest side of a hill(10)."

     "The monument corresponding to the monument at sixteen miles distance is a stake and heap of stones on a high hill, there being two small ponds to the south east eastward of the monument, the nearest to which is about 5 rods to the monument." [This monument is on top of Cranberry Mountain.]

     "The monument corresponding to the monument at eighteen miles distance as aforesaid is a stake and heap of stones on a ledge of rocks on the west side of a hill." [This monument was found in 1860. It is north of the county line.]

     In 1855 commissioners were appointed by the State of Connecticut to unite with commissioners to be appointed by New York to ascertain and settle the boundary line. In accordance with a joint resolution of the Legislature of New York, passed April 5th, 1856, Gov. Myron H. Clark appointed Hon. Benjamin Field, of Orleans county, Hon. Samuel D. Backus, of Kings, and Col. Jonathan Tarbell, of Essex, to be commissioners on the part of New York.

     The commissioners of both States met but no agreement could be made between them. Connecticut insisted on a straight line from the corner monument on the Massachusetts line to the angle in Westchester county, while New York insisted that the line should run through the ancient monuments erected by the former commissioners in 1731, although that line would not be straight, as they were not authorized to make a new line but to ascertain and perpetuate the old one. All efforts to agree proving fruitless, the commissioners of New York made report to the Senate in 1857, giving a full history of the case. By an Act of Legislature, passed April 4th, 1860, "The commissioners were directed and empowered to survey the line between the States and to mark it with suitable monuments as fixed by the survey of 1731." The commissioners were to give one month's notice to the Connecticut commissioners and if they refused or neglected to attend, they were to run the line without them. They accordingly surveyed the line (Connecticut commissioners not consenting) and made report to the New York Senate, in 1861. The old monuments were found and identified and monuments of sawed marble eight inches square and standing out of ground about two and a half feet were placed at road crossings and other suitable places. For reasons given before a line connecting the ancient monuments would not be straight. For the sake of the curious, the course of the line as then run is given as far as Putnam county is concerned:(11) From 6 mile monument to 8 mile monument, N. 10º 19' E., 159 ch., 28 L. From 8 mile monument to 10 mile monument, N. 12º, 24' E., 155 ch., 71 L. From 10 mile monument to 14 mile monument, W. 10º, 51' E., 313 ch., 41 L. From 14 mile monument to 16 mile monument, N. 10º, 11' E., 161 ch., 7 L. From 18 mile monument to 18 mile monument, N. 12º, 19' E., 157 ch., 15 L.

     The south line of the county runs about half a mile south of the six mile monument. The course between the six mile and the four mile monument in Westchester is south 12º, 20' W.

     In 1879, by an Act of Legislature of the State of New York, the secretary of State, the attorney general, and the State engineer and surveyor were appointed commissioners to meet with commissioners appointed by the State of Connecticut to establish the boundary between the States. A settlement of the long vexed question was finally made, and the line as run and marked by the New York commissioners in 1860 was agreed upon as the boundary line between the two States.

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